Five family members of Sewol ferry disaster victims apologized to the driver who they were charged with beating up on the street, according to the association of victims’ family members on Thursday.
Members including Kim Byeong-won, the former head of the association of victims’ family members, and Kim Hyeong-gi, the former vice head, visited the driver on Tuesday and offered an apology at the hospital where he is being treated for a rib fracture he sustained during the fight.
The police summoned the five people involved and three witnesses on Thursday to investigate the high-profile assault that roiled the country’s political circles.
The five family members of the Sewol victims allegedly beat up the driver whom they called for a driving escort service after drinking with Rep. Kim Hyun of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy on Sept. 17.
They allegedly assaulted the driver after he complained about waiting outside for a long time and got into an argument with Kim.
Kim apologized to the Sewol victims’ families and the driver on Wednesday for the incident after being released from some eight hours of police questioning.
The 52-year-old driver told police that passersby had come and helped him while he was being beaten up by the intoxicated family members.
According to the police, four family members denied their involvement in a brawl on the street, except for Kim Byeong-won, whose actions were caught on a surveillance camera in the area.
The family members argued that they were attacked by the two passersby and were provoked by their threat to upload the scene on Twitter.
By Kim Da-sol, Intern reporter()
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
